Titan 1es: sounds nice, but I think people should just pony up the greenbacks for the Titan 1. The plastic feels less comfortable in the ears than the metal, and it has a plastic resonance to the sound that makes it sound non-premium. For the price, it's certainly a nice-sounding earphone, and while it's less refined than the Titan 1 in both treble and bass, it has slightly better midrange presence. The problem for me is that I've heard how good $30 can get people these days in the LG Quadbeat series. If you don't have the budget for a $90 earphone in the Titan 1, you might as well save a few bucks and get a good $30 earphone, rather than a $50 earphone in the 1es --- or at least I think the 1es is going to be priced at around $50.
Titan 3: I am floored. While I definitely liked the Titan 1 and thought it was a great value product, despite being the creator of this thread, I never quite subscribed to the level of hype it got over the course of the last few months. The Titan 1 didn't quite have the vocal presentation that I preferred; I also found the treble of the Titan 1, while not exactly harsh, distracting. The build quality of the Titan 1 was also not perfect. The Titan 3 is everything I wanted improved about the Titan 1 and more. There is actual density and weight to vocals --- not diffuse like the Titan 1 --- but make no mistake, the Titan 3 is not a warm, wooly mid-centric earphone a la the Shure SE535. It is still a balanced earphone that happens to be more mid-focused than other DUNU earphones in its current lineup. In the grand landscape of IEMs, I would not call it a "vocal-oriented earphone", but certainly, vocals sound great with the Titan 3. There is a tiny, tiny bump in the 1-1.5 kHz locus, but a similarly even-keeled upper midrange. Lower treble contains some boost in the clarity region, but subjectively, it doesn't come off as harsh. Upper treble is not grating at all, and unlike the Titan 1, does not artificially place hi-hats overly forward. Bass can't be called analytical, as it doesn't have an etched attack, but it still exhibits great control and retrained, suitable impact levels. Layering and texture aren't as good as they are with the DN-2000J, but I can hardly complain; plus, this type of bass presentation fits in better with the overall sonic flavor that the Titan 3 is going for. Fit and finish are great --- it is slightly heavier than the Titan 1, but manages to feel more comfortable, perhaps because of the smoother polished facets, and the larger end piece. The chrome mirror finish is beautifully done and gives off the feel of a truly premium product. The "3" symbol looks a bit out of place and feels more at home as livery on Dale Earnhardt Jr's NASCAR, but it's better than the "D" that DUNU have been using. I have no idea how much the Titan 3 will end up costing, but at this moment I am prepared to give it an extremely high rating. It is not just a great earphone for the money, but almost certainly a great earphone, period.
